For the fourth straight year, Point Loma Nazarene University's Kelsey Tyree is looking forward to having a special time playing in the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championships at her own school.

Or make that extra special this time.

"It's been wonderful having the tournament here and having a great, ever-evolving team," said Tyree, the only PLNU player whose college career coincided with all four of the tournaments. "This is my final chance to leave it on the court, and it's nice that it's going to be my own court."

Pool play for the 20-team field begins today at Golden Gymnasium, with the Sea Lions facing Missouri Baptist in their opener at 7:30 p.m. The championship match is Saturday at 7:30, preceded by midday semifinals.

Both top-seeded Fresno Pacific and second-seeded Cal Baptist are familiar to the Sea Lions as fellow members of the Golden State Athletic Conference. PLNU (21-10) received an at-large berth as the 20th team in the national rankings.

This is the eighth time PLNU has hosted the event, which will move to Columbia (Mo.) College next fall. The tournament sites are determined in two-year runs, and the Sea Lions received a repeat bid two years ago.

"When I found out that we would be hosting for two more years, there was a small part of me that said, 'Darn it, I want to travel somewhere else,' " said Tyree, an outside hitter, who came to PLNU from Centennial High in Baltimore. "But the other part said, 'This is such an amazing opportunity.' "

Second-year PLNU coach Aurora Salas, previously an assistant at the school for five seasons, also played in the tournament as a member of the host Sea Lions in 1992-93.

"It's truly an experience," Salas said. "Just being the home team and having the support of your administration and school, that all means a lot."

A year ago, a rebuilding PLNU team with six freshmen needed the automatic berth given the host to play in the tournament. But then the Sea Lions topped fourth-seeded Dordt College of Sioux City, Iowa, to start pool play.

PLNU's Kate Alderson, who had a team-high 26 kills in that match, was named to the all-tournament team as a sophomore, even though the Sea Lions didn't advance from pool play.

"The cool thing about volleyball is that the team played so well that I was able to play my best," Alderson said. "That's what did it. It all just came together for everybody. We were so fired up and ready to play."

The Sea Lions tied for fifth at 10-10 in the GSAC this season before placing third in regional qualifying. Tyree received all-conference honors, and Alderson regained top form after overcoming some early-season ailments.

"The experience we gained last year and the maturity of playing great teams in our conference has really prepared us for the competition we face this year," Salas said. "We're a much more confident team."